


Daddy's Little Girl

by lovelywordshenanigans



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Doctor not main character, F/M, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Slightly non-canon timeline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-03
Updated: 2015-03-06
Packaged: 2018-03-16 04:02:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3473702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovelywordshenanigans/pseuds/lovelywordshenanigans
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rory is enjoying his father/daughter moments with River, but are they doomed from the start?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pain makes you stronger

**Author's Note:**

> Ok... apply a tad of suspension of disbelief here. I'm fudging with canon timeline just a bit because I wanted to explore what a father-daughter relationship might look like between Rory and River...and a few other things. So this is set somewhere between A Good Man Goes to War and Let’s Kill Hitler for the Ponds anyway (thus the fudged timeline). River of course knows more. Not completely sure of the Doctor’s timeline in it. I don’t think it matters for him though in this fic. Hope you enjoy anyway

River settled herself into the end of her favorite couch in the TARDIS library. This was always one of the highlights for her whenever she was on the TARDIS at the same time as her parents, well, now anyway. She smiled to herself as she thought that it had been worth the very difficult wait for them to find out who she was. The new tradition quickly developed once they knew. Well...they mostly knew who she was. They still didn’t know that they had had a hand in raising her...in one of her childhoods anyway.

Amy hadn’t taken the news of her identity very well; still wasn’t really. Rory on the other hand had embraced her. He had always wanted children and even though this wasn’t exactly the way he’d planned, the fact was he was still a dad and she was still his daughter. Amy wasn’t happy that he’d accepted it so readily and didn’t like him spending so much time with River, which was how this little tradition started. Amy had always been quite a heavy sleeper...much to River’s enjoyment when she was known as Mels... so Rory would wait until Amy was asleep and would sneak down to the library for some father/daughter time with his “little” girl.

Before long, Rory was pulling River into a big bear hug. This had become another tradition of sorts. Bear hugs of that sort were quite undignified and thus very un-River which was probably why Rory enjoyed it so much. Still she loved it and laughed quietly as he squeezed her tight. Once released, she handed him his cup of tea and settled back down in the cushions.

Rory was always just happy to spend time with his daughter. He knew she still had secrets she couldn’t share but it somehow didn’t matter. He watched her eyes sparkle at times, and darken at times. He watched her expressions. He watched her mannerisms. He listened, really listened to the things she talked about. Even stories that seemed to be simply funny stories still added to the puzzle that was River Song, his daughter, his Melody. Most of the time she regaled him with stories of her adventures with the Doctor. He would share stories of the adventures they had when she wasn’t with them. There was a lot of time spent laughing over the Doctor’s antics whether inside the TARDIS or out. Rory had never known a man that could get into quite as much as the Doctor.

Tonight though, Rory came with questions in mind. He wanted to know more about his daughter than the safe topics of time and space travel that she favored and was so comfortable with. He’d let her talk for a bit, catching him up on all the goings on in her life which really wasn’t as much as one might think given that she’d been in Stormcage for the past while without escaping as much. As the conversation lulled into a companionable silence, Rory saw his opportunity to ask. “So… DO we get to raise you at all?”

The look on her face gave him the answer but she smiled that secret smile before responding with her normal “Spoilers.”

He chuckled a bit. He really hadn’t expected an answer to that one. But as he gazed at her a new question came to mind. “Are you happy, River? Really, properly happy?”

River looked down at her cup, her thumb running gently over the handle of its own accord, a soft smile playing on her lips before she spoke. “Yes. I am now. “

“But you are in prison! And your relationship with the Doctor isn’t exactly stable.” Rory asked trying to understand.

River laughed at that. A stable relationship with the Doctor. Was that even a possibility? Even in congruent time streams she couldn’t imagine “a stable relationship” as he would have it with that wild, wonderful man. “The Doctor spirits me away for the adventure and romance that I need, but strangely enough, Stormcage provides a safe quiet stability that I never knew I was missing.”

Rory regarded her intently. What kind of life had she lived that would make Stormcage a positive part of her life? “Tell me about your childhood,” he asked softly.

“That’s enough about me for one night, yeah?” she tried while shifting nervously in her seat. “Let’s talk about you and Mum!”

“River, please,” he asked. “I’ve heard our stories and I have a feeling you know more about us than you can ever tell me, so I’m the one at a loss here. Please. I want to know more about my daughter.” He begged, taking her hand between his and holding it to his heart, pleading with her.

This was not a conversation she’d ever wanted to have but she’d always known that if she ever found her parents, properly her parents not her best mates, they’d want to know all the details. The more she’d gotten to know Rory the more she knew it would be coming soon and he’d want to know everything. She just didn’t expect it this soon.

“Rory,” she warned, pulling her hand away. Her using his given name instead of 'Dad' that she'd quickly adopted during their daddy/daughter moments,earning her the distance she needed moreso than the physical move. He could tell by her voice that he wouldn’t like whatever it was she had faced, but that made him more determined to know.

“River,” he tried again, only touching her shoulder lightly this time, wanting to maintain that connection but not wanting her to bolt or shutdown on him. “The good, the bad, the ugly, I want to know it all. I’ve been around you enough to know that your life isn’t about fluffy pillows and rainbows. I heard you say that you were made into a weapon. I have a general idea that that isn’t going to be an exactly happy place.”

She sighed and rested her head in her hands a moment before taking a deep breath and setting up to face him. He watched as her face hardened a bit. It was almost enough to make him rethink this. River was such a strong person. Had the horrors of her past done that to her?

“Exactly which childhood do you want to know about? The one where they decided that it would be great research… and fun… to see if I was able to regenerate?” She paused for a moment,while the memory of the fear and then the excruciating pain of their action only being diminished by the even more overwhelming pain of her body tearing itself apart to release the new one; letting the shock and realization of that wash over him. They hadn’t known if she could regenerate and the only test for that was to kill her. He swallowed thickly and let out a grief filled “oh, River”.

“Or I could tell you about the one that was filled with terror and hatred that landed me sick, alone, dying in the back of a downtown New York City alley.” She watched him shudder a bit and wondered if he would change his mind. He only encouraged her to continue. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve regenerated… spoilers… but the best I can figure, I was quite rubbish at being a child because I kept regenerating into one. I did manage to have one mostly decent childhood, but of course thats another that I cannot tell you anything about yet.”

He smiled softly at her, understanding eyes of a father. He fought the urge to reach for her hand to comfort her, but she’d pulled so far back into herself that he was scared to touch her.

“Tell me about the eye patch lady,” he requested softly.

“Madame Kavorian,” she nearly spat. “The human face to the monsters. I have so many holes in my memories. I’m sure they are full of the Silence but my brain can’t remember them. I remember being afraid all the time so I know there was more than just the Silence.” She looked down at her hands for a beat before nearly whispering, “I guess that’s why I carry a gun now.”

“Were you loved as a child?” Rory ventured.

River's mind floated to the few faces that were friendly to her. “There were a few caregivers that treated me with kindness, but if they were seen as being too nice they were removed and I remember hearing that they were possibly killed as an example to keep others from being too kind. ‘Weapons aren’t raised to be nice’ I heard one guard say; only I didn’t realize he was talking about me.” The caregiver that Amy and Canton had found came to mind, only from many years before they found him. She knew he had managed to lose his mind even more because of her. His wife had been the kindest of those faces in her memory. “Ms Mary” she'd taught the tiny Melody to call her. River had felt the closest to a mother's love with her than anyone else. She supposed that was exactly why the kind woman had been killed. The poor man never recovered from her loss. Rory did reach out then and rub a hand across her back reassuringly then.

“Did you know about us? Me and Amy?” he asked finally.

She laughed ruefully. “Oh yes. They made sure I knew about all of you. You, Mum, especially the Doctor. I was drilled about all the different faces of the Doctor, only the pictures I was shown and had to memorize were vilified. I didn’t really recognize him the first time I met him. I was expecting him to be this evil man and I get this wonderful boyish face that acts like I am the most important thing in his world.” She paused a moment and he took in the soft expression on her face as she thought back to those very early days for her. She seemed to shake herself out of it and continued to his question. “They always made sure I had this one picture of Amy holding me when I was born.” She thought back to the times Ms Mary would hold her close, picture cradled close to her heart. Ms Mary knew she wasn't supposed to, but she would whisper in young Melody's ear about the permanence of a mother's love. She never let her forget that Amy was her mom. River had held on to those words despite anything the others told her. Ms Mary cared about her, she wouldn't lie to her. He remembered Amy being very upset to find a picture of her holding an infant in that orphanage. It really was all about that little girl afraid of the spaceman that was going to eat her. “They made sure to tell me how you and Amy didn’t want me, how you were traitors because you travelled with the Doctor and how equally evil you must be as the Doctor’s associates.” She smiled for a moment at a memory. “But I didn’t believe them. I was in my second generation and they would drill into my head how evil my birth parents were but how I was going to save the universe from ‘the Doctor and the Ponds’. But they never changed my name. I was always Melody Pond. I never really understood that other than just another way to hurt me. I would sit on my bed and stare at that picture of Mum holding me. I memorized every line of her face, every freckle. I could see the sterile room of Demon’s Run behind her but in the midst of it, she is staring down at me with so much love in her eyes. I could never believe that she would just walk away from me without a fight.”

Rory took her hand then. “We tried to find you. We did everything we could. You have to believe that, River.”

River looked at him lovingly and smiled. “I know. I know. You all did everything you could, but you had no idea what the Silence were. There was nothing you could do.” She made sure to hold his eyes so he could see the truth and determination in her next statement. “It is NOT your fault. I don’t blame any of you. In fact I’m glad you weren’t able to find me. And its why I refuse to tell you anything to help. They were ready. They ARE ready. You all would have walked into ambush and I would have lost you all for good.” He hadn’t thought of that. Still he would have tried if it meant saving his baby girl.

“What else, River? Is there more?”

“Oh yes,” she laughed. “This is my favorite part!

 

_Melody carried the picture of her mother everywhere she could. Ms Mary would smile watching her introduce her toys to her picture-mum. She talked to the picture as if her mother was right there beside her. Then Ms Mary was gone. They said she wouldn't be back anymore, that she was too nice. Melody cried that night, more than she'd cried in a very long time._

_There were no more nice caregivers after that, so she clung to the picture more tightly. Every morning, they would pry the photo out of her hands and put it back on the counter, again telling her how evil her mother was and how unwanted she was._

_Madame Kavorian came for a visit one day to find her talking again to the photo. She picked it out of Melody's little fingers with a sneer. “Still hoping she will rescue you?” She chided her. Melody didnt hide the anger in her face and Madame Kavorian cupped her chin with a smile. “There you go, little one. Build that hate. It will serve you well.”_

_After that visit, the spaceman started coming to visit her. She was scared of it, but when she would wake up in it the terror was realized. She would call out, begging for her mum to save her, but the spaceman always returned. She cried out over and over. The spaceman was going to eat her, why was no one listening to her? Some strange man kept answering but all he did was ask questions, he was no help!_

_And then it happened! The day she had been waiting for! People came for her! They had to be coming for her. They were looking at the old spaceman that she had gotten out of before the new, stronger one came for her. She recognized some of them. The Doctor! She was surprised that the spaceman didn't react automatically to his presence. Then she saw her...the very person she wanted to see more than anything...her Mum! She finally got the courage, and strength to force the spacesuit to walk where she wanted to go. Her mum looked up and saw her. Melody didnt realize then that her mum wasn't seeing her, only the spaceman. The spaceman was already in motion, she didnt have time to change that when she watched her mother grab the gun and take aim...at her. No. At the spaceman, she told herself. Still, it was enough for her to force the spacesuit in the other direction._

“ _See, we tried to tell you. She tried to kill you,” they kept telling her, but Melody held tight to her belief. Her mother had tried to kill the spaceman that was trying to eat her, she didn't know that she was inside._

_Later, she was surprised to find her mother in her room. This was her chance! She was still in the spacesuit. She reached up to lift the broken visor. For the first time in this regeneration certainly, but she'd lost count of the proper number of years, she looked her mother in the eyes. “Please help me. Help me. Please.” Melody begged, but she could tell by her mother's scream that her time was out, something terrible was behind her._

_Madame Kavorian showed up again two nights later. She walked into Melody's room to find her clutching the picture to her chest again, the years hadn't broken her, neither had her mother trying to kill her. Kavorian went nuts, yelling at her, throwing toys at the walls, or Melody, or wherever they landed._

“ _You stupid child! She tried to kill you,” Kavorian screamed over Melody's defiant stand that her mum was shooting the spaceman to save her. “Do you really think your mother wants to save you? She may not have known who you are, but look at you! You are nothing but a monster now! And love you? Ha! Your mother doesn't love you! She only loves the Doctor. She'd never love a psychopathic child like you.” She ripped the frame from Melody's hand again, and threw it on the floor, her heel coming down to smash the glass into the fragile paper behind it._

_The countless years of hate, anger, and range they had poured into her came boiling to the surface, and for the first time, Melody Pond lashed out at her captor._

“I attacked her with all the rage I had inside me.” River had gotten up and started pacing the room by then, long-buried emotions bubbling up inside her. “I hated that woman with everything I had.”

_Little Melody kicked, hit, screamed, head butted, scratched, bit, spit, anything she could think of. Kavorian yelled for the guards, but by the time they got there, Melody's wrath was visible by the scratches on the woman's face and arms. Melody was so filled with expelling her rage on this woman that she didn't pay the guards any attention when they entered the room, but suddenly everything went dark._

_She woke up what must've been a few days later in a dark corner of an alley in New York City, cold, wet, and seemingly alone although she seemed to catch movement out of the corner of her eye when she was coherent enough to notice. Several members of the Silence had been sent to dump her somewhere out of the way. Kavorian was tired of her. She was tired of expending the resources for no result. Maybe they would try again once she was older, she would never truly be out of their grasp anyway._

“I look back now and feel sure there were Silence nearby because there was always a voice in my head telling me that if my Mum really loved me she would save me then since I was on my own, and that if I didn’t love her so much I would be in a nice warm room. They kept taunting me the sicker I got. ‘Your Mum won't love you.’ ‘Your mum doesn’t really want you.’” River finished her story.

She fell into the other end of the couch from Rory as if she’d been deflated and sighed a heavy sigh. “And to think just how right they were.”

Rory saw the first tear prick the corner of her eye and he pulled her against him, gently rocking his baby girl. “Oh, sweetheart, Amy will come around I promise, she will. I’ve known Amy for so long. Trust me, she’ll come around,” he told her. She wanted to tell him that she’d know Amy for a very long time as well.. and one thing she knew about Amy was that once she set her mind to something there was no changing it.

They sat like that for some time, River trying to get her emotions back under control and Rory comforting his daughter and simultaneously wondering what happened to his loving understanding accepting wife. He was so lost in thought that he didn’t hear his wife’s soft footsteps approaching the door.

“What the hell?” Her Scottish accent heavily boomed from the door. River jumped away from her father and Rory jumped up to face his furious wife. “Is this where you have been sneaking off to every time? Oh, don’t think I haven’t noticed!” Rory tried to get his wife’s attention and calm her down but she was having none of it.

“Amy I just wanted to spend some time with my daughter without bothering you.”

“Your _daughter_ “ Amy spat at him and turned her attention toward River.

“Amy... I never...” River started.

“I’ve told you before,” she yelled just inches from River’s face “You. Are. Not. My. Daughter. And even if you were, I wouldn’t want you.” River’s jaw clenched but she refused to break eye contact with her mother.

“AMELIA POND!” Rory yelled horrified at what he’d just heard in light of what River had just shared with him. He would have given anything to pull his daughter into his arms but what she needed now was an escape. Rory never ever raised his voice to Amy and doing so this time got him the result he wanted. Amy turned to him and away from River, giving her the opportunity to break from the encounter and run down the hall.

 


	2. Tears make you braver

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And the results are....

The Doctor usually caught Amy once she wandered into the console room if she woke up while River was enjoying her time with Rory and would divert her attention somehow but he had been under the console and had missed her passing this time. So he was quite surprised when the sound of yelling made its way to his ears just moments before he managed to catch a very upset River in his arms as she attempted to make her way past him.

 

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong, love?” he asked softly as he gently brushed her hair out of her tear streaked face.

River quickly tried to school her features even though her heart was broken. She didn’t have to say anything, the Doctor knew her well enough to have an idea what could bring out that much pain in this amazing woman... her past. He engulfed her in a hug, kissing her forehead, temple, cheek, wherever he could reach. These were moments he saved only for the two of them, moments where he allowed the love he felt for her to flow out of him. It was apparent that she needed reassurance of that love now. He whispered soothing words of love against her ear and even felt her begin to relax against him before Amy and Rory’s argument spilled into the corridor.

 

The Doctor let go of River and stepped in front of her as he saw a still furious Amy barreling down the corridor toward them. River’s back stiffened as she heard her mother turn her anger toward the Doctor.

“And you, Raggedy Man! How could you? You knew about this!”

 

“About a father and daughter wanting time to get to know each other? Yes I knew about it... and encouraged it” the Doctor responded calmly. “What happened to my Amelia who welcomed the strange man in the blue box that fell out of the sky into her back yard without blinking?” Amy paused for a second, the Doctor had a way of getting her attention when he called her Amelia. It brought her back to a time when it was just her and her Raggedy Doctor and fish fingers and custard and an impossible blue box with a swimming pool in the library, before time and space and wedding rings, and stolen babies.

 

“I know that you care a lot for her and you have a relationship with her, but, Doctor, you are not going to force me to have anything to do with that woman.” She walked closer to him and lost some of the anger that had laced her words though tears still welled in her eyes. “She is not Melody. She is NOT my daughter. I'll never take her word for it.”

 

“Oh, Pond,” the Doctor said gently. “You know we can find out for sure, the TARDIS can scan you both and compare DNA. Even Human Plus should be able to tell if the DNA is from the mother.” Amy looked unsure. “At least you will know without a doubt. No taking anyone’s word for anything.”

 

Amy continued staring at him, still shaking her head in denial, but at least considering the Doctor’s solution. Finally she looked toward Rory who nodded vigorously. He wanted nothing more than for his family to be a family.

 

While Amy looked to Rory, the Doctor looked to River to make sure she was ok with it. She nodded distractedly at him, giving him her acquiescence despite doubts flooding her mind for the first time. The people that told her she was Melody Pond weren’t exactly known for truth. Yes she had regenerated and had human plus Time Lord DNA... or so she was told... but that didn’t necessarily mean had she had to be Amy and Rory’s child. What if everything she believed was a lie? Look what would happen to them all if that DNA does not back up her story. She would lose everything. They would all hate her, even the Doctor. She would be truly alone.

 

She didn’t know how long she stood there staring off lost in her own thoughts until the Doctor gently touched her arm, telling her it was time for her scan. She moved with him and stood stone still while the TARDIS ran the scan. She kept her eyes fixed on the Doctors. As much as she’d love to look toward Rory, the fact was, despite everything she held true in the deepest depths of her heart, in mere seconds the man that she’d adored as her father could immediately become an enemy. The Doctor never took his eyes from her. He believed her as well. He gave her a soft private smile, one of those smiles that he saved for River Song only. She couldn’t help a quirk of the lips in return just as the TARDIS signaled the scan was complete. River took a calming breath and moved back to the railing putting space between herself and her supposed parents. The Doctor shifted the screen around so he could inspect the results before they saw it. River closed her eyes, head bowed; she couldn't bear seeing their faces at the result. Rory moved to stand behind his wife, a hand on the small of her back for support, but carefully watching River as well.

 

“O...K, then” the Doctor started a bit too cheerfully. He rubbed his hands together in his typical excitement before simultaneously turning the screen around and joyfully announcing “Congratulations Ameila Pond...you have a daughter.”

 

River let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding and chanced at glance at her mother for the first time. Amy’s face was a picture of shock. River wanted to go to her, but just as she was about to move, Amy’s head started shaking once again.

 

“No. No” she repeated softly. For the first time Amy looked toward River without the rage in her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she said softly, “but you’re not my Melody.”

 

At that Amy turned and quickly ran up the stairs to the hallway leading to her bedroom. Rory followed close behind her. River’s eyes slid shut as she sighed, not even the truth made her acceptable to her mother. She looked toward the stairway to find the Doctor halfway up the stairs but looking back at her. She knew what he was doing. He was checking on her. He had more faith that she would be ok than Amy. She wondered if that were true at all, would she be ok? Thoughts danced through her mind. Amy would be fine as long as River kept her distance, but what would River be left with? She felt the Doctor's concern tickling around the edges of her mind so she gave him a soft smile and a slight nod of her head towards Amy’s room; no matter how hurt she was, she didn't want Amy to hurt as well.With a quick “thumbs up” he was gone.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos are appreciated, Comments are like crack


	3. Heartbreak makes you wiser

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yesterday, I cried. I cried because I hurt. I cried because I was hurt. I cried because hurt has no place to go except deeper into the pain that caused it in the first place, and when it gets there, the hurt wakes you up."  
> \- Iyanla Vanzant in poem "Yesterday I Cried"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've never read Iyanla Vanzant's poem "Yesterday I Cried".. you really should. I couldn't help thinking about it while reading over this chapter.

Why had she not brought her Vortex Manipulator this time? She’d not needed it the last several times she’d been with the Doctor so she’d left it hidden safely out of sight. Now it was the one thing she longed for. She thought about simply programming the TARDIS to take her back to Stormcage but one touch on the controls and the child of the TARDIS knew that Mother-TARDIS would have no running away this time. She heard voices rising anew from upstairs so she went to the only place on the TARDIS she knew she could hide.

 

She had no clue how long she’d been hidden down there. Down in the bowels of the TARDIS, past all the hanging plugs, wires and connection that the Doctor loved to fiddle with, she had found a nice dark spot in between two banks of equipment. She’d found it long ago and used it rarely when she needed some time away from the Doctor. He’d never found her here so she thought it was safe. She sat in that small space wedged between the metal skins of the spaceship, her knees pulled up to her chest and cried her heart out. She cried for all the years of longing for her parents when she was a child. She cried because in all the years of fighting, the harsh truth was Madame Kavorian was right, her mother didn’t want her. She cried for the little girl still inside her that simply wanted to be loved by her Mum. She shook with emotion and grief. Never had she allowed herself this much time to simply cry it out. Her eyes were puffy; her face felt hot, her breathing was ragged. She was so glad to be in the bowels of the TARDIS where no one could find her because River Song simply did not cry like that.

 

She was trying to get her irregular breathing under control when a warm hand covered hers that were wrapped around her knees. She gasped as she looked up into the eyes of her father.

 

“Dad! What are you doing down here? Why aren’t you with Mum? Is she ok?” She asked all together hastily wiping at her tear-streaked face.

 

“I figured I’d let the Doctor give it a try. He seems to be able to get through to her better than I can. I’m all talked out anyway.” She nodded softly thinking how true the reverse was as well. The Doctor would listen to Amy better than anyone else.

 

She scooted out of her hiding place to lean against the wall beside him. “How did you find me?” she finally asked.

 

“You’ll think it’s silly,” he started. “But when we were kids, our best mate was this girl named Mels and anytime we played hide and seek no one could ever find her. She was always hiding in places like this that everyone else would overlook. Even found her crying a couple times when her adopted mum would be frantically looking for her. She never would say why she was hiding or crying. I was down here helping the doctor one day and noticed this spot and thought that it would be one of Mels’ hiding places if she ever came on the TARDIS.” River giggled at the story. Of course she remembered all of that but it wasn’t time for him to know that yet. “See, I said you’d think it was silly.”

 

“Not at all,” she responded. “Sounds like your Mels was a handful.”

 

“You’re not kidding! But, you know, I bet you’d get on great with her! You’ll have to come meet her once all this settles down.” River nodded noncommittally and laid her head over on his shoulder. She loved hearing her father talk about her with such fondness...even if he didn't know he was talking about her. Rory settled his head on top of hers for a bit before speaking again. “It’s gonna be all right, you know. It really is going to be ok.”

 

“I won’t make you choose though,” she said sadly despite his arguments. “I won't do it. If she can’t accept it, I’ll understand. Stormcage isn’t that bad all around, and I escape often enough even without the Doctor. I won’t hurt you both any more than you’ve already been hurt. The time I’ve spent with you is more than I ever dared to hope for and I’ll treasure it for the rest of my life.”

 

He hugged her properly then. “Oh, River Song, Melody Williams...or Pond..whatever you want to go by, I love you and no matter how strange it seems or how hard it gets, you will always be my little girl.” He couldn’t think of anything else to say. If Amy couldn’t accept things then River being on the TARDIS with them would be hard on everyone but would make River a target for Amy’s wrath. He didn’t doubt that River could hold her own but it simply wasn’t fair. All he could do was hope and pray the Doctor had some magic words that would change her mind. He wasn’t ready to let go of his daughter yet.

 

“I love you too, Dad.” She whispered back to him not bothering to wipe the tears away this time.

 

 

She was sitting in the swing seat under the console room floor when he found her. Leaning against the rafters he ventured to speak to her. “I’m sorry, River. I don’t seem to have helped much.” She let out an audible sigh as her shoulders slumped. She got up heavily and made her way over to him, emotions mostly numb now. He searched her eyes and wrapped her in his arms, repeating over and over how sorry he was that he hadn’t been able to fix it for her. She thanked him for trying and assured him that she was ok. He wasn’t ready to let go of her quite yet, so he held her as the minutes passed by, each comforting the other and sharing strength. He kissed her lovingly before reluctantly allowing her to pull away from him.

 

“I guess it’s time I got back anyway,” she said pulling him up the ramp to the console, unwilling to let go of his hand quite yet.

 

“You could stay,” he offered pulling her to him again.

 

“I would love to travel with you, Doctor, but not this time, yeah?” She said glancing up to her parent’s room. “Besides, I’m sure Stormcage has figured out I’m gone by now.”

 

“River,” he sing-songed as if he had the most wonderful secret. “I have a time machine. I can get you back 2 minutes after you left.”

 

“Oh, Sweetie, you do try, but it’s usually more like 2 days. It has already been 2 weeks! I really don’t enjoy having to pay that much kitchen duty! No, I think I should be getting on back.” He reluctantly agreed and set the coordinates as she gathered her things.

 

He walked her to the door of the TARDIS and on to her cell making sure she was safe. He hated seeing the sadness that lingered in her eyes despite the flirtiness that resurfaced in the last few minutes. He really didn’t want to leave her and was somewhat tempted to stay with her, but he still had the situation with her parents to deal with. He unconsciously straightened his bowtie as he thought about it. He caught the quirk of her eyebrow as he did so and pulled her into a passionate kiss. There had been far too few of those this adventure he decided.

 

“You know,” she started as she ran a finger slowly and deliberately from his bowtie down the buttons of his shirt, making him swallow hard. “You DO have a time machine. You are welcome to pop back in after you drop my parents off. Just think of it. The entire TARDIS to ourselves. The mind races!” He pulled her to him again kissing her soundly.

 

“You, Miss Song, are going to be the death of me yet,” he said lightly.

 

“Maybe, but I assure you, you’ll have no complaints,” she flirted back. 

One last kiss to his lips and she sashayed into her cell closing the door behind her. He stopped midway back to the TARDIS to turn back to her with a big grin on his face and just pointed at her. She raised an eyebrow and simply smiled back. She watched him dance through the doors of the big blue box only to have them open only a moment later and him look out at her only slightly more somber and toss a heartfelt, “Until next time, my love” back at her. She blew him a kiss as the doors closed and the blue box dematerialized before her eyes.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this poem sums up River's tears exactly. Here's the ending of the poem:
> 
> "I cried because it was too late. I cried because it was time.
> 
> I cried because my soul knew that I didn't know that my soul knew everything I needed to know.
> 
> I cried a soulful cry yesterday, and it felt so good.
> 
> It felt so very, very bad.
> 
> In the midst of my crying, I felt my freedom coming, Because Yesterday, I cried with an agenda."


	4. So Thank the Past for a Better Future

She’d been lost in thought when the tell-tale sound of the TARDIS met her ears. She had a love/hate relationship with that sound, she thought. She hated the grinding sound, knowing that just a simple flip of a switch would fix it, and be so much better for the TARDIS as well; but then she looked forward to that sound because it meant that her love was coming for her. She hopped to her feet and made her way to the bars of her cell, a huge smile playing on her lips as she waited for him to waltz out of his precious blue box. In an instant, her smile was gone as she watched the doors open and the feisty red head step cautiously out, take an appraising look around and begin a few tentative steps toward her. 

“Amy,” River cried in near panic. “Where’s the Doctor? What’s happened? Is he ok? What’s going on?” She gripped the bars tightly, cursing the barrier that was holding her back from her loved one who obviously had to be in trouble. 

“He’s..he's fine,” Amy answered dismissively. “They are mucking about with something. He probably doesn’t even realize we’ve landed anywhere yet.” 

_Doesn’t even realize we’ve landed anywhere yet_? River thought, her mind now on high alert. “What do you mean? Who’s piloting the TARDIS? How did you get here then?” 

Amy looked a bit sheepish as she took a couple more hesitant steps that brought her closer to River’s cell. “I... uh... I may have told the TARDIS that I wanted to see my daughter,” she said shyly unwilling to meet River’s gaze. 

_Oh, Ole Girl, what have you done?_ River thought. 

“When are you, Amy? It’s important.” 

“About three or four weeks since I yelled at you and Rory.” Amy answered guiltily. 

“About the same for me,” River mumbled. _Alright, Ole Girl, I really hope you know what you are doing._ River knew the TARDIS loved her just as she did the Doctor, and she tried to trust the old machine’s wisdom, but standing face to face with the mother who rejected her, she was a bit wary. 

“They accepted you so quickly,” Amy stated and River would swear she saw a flash of disgust cross her features making her heart drop. She didn’t know what to say, didn’t know if she could trust herself to say anything so she stayed silent. “Those two in there, they’ve missed you so much.” 

At that, River found she couldn’t stay silent, as much as it would hurt her. “Have they been pressuring you? I’ve asked them not to. If they have, you need to tell me. I won’t have them pushing you into something you aren’t comfortable with.” 

Amy shook her head. No they hadn't been pressuring her, but she could tell that River's absence weighed heavily on them both. They had given her plenty of time to think things through..the question of her daughter's identity, or the accepting of that identity as it had been revealed, had never been far from her mind. She began pacing a bit in front of the cell. “You know, I never imagined the things I’d see or experience traveling with the Doctor. There’s been a lot and I mean a LOT that I’ve had to learn to accept that I never dreamed possible, but this..” 

“Amy,” River began softly, “I can’t imagine how hard this is for you. To go from not knowing you were pregnant, to giving birth and having the opportunity as short as it was to bond with your baby, to that baby being stolen from your arms, to having some middle aged looking woman stand before you telling you she’s your daughter that you’d cradled in your arms only moments before. And to have it all happen within the space of a few hours. I cannot fathom the grief or the overwhelm you must feel,” she sighed sadly and leaned heavily against the footboard of her small cot. She regarded Amy closely for a few minutes and swallowed hard as she came to a decision she never thought she'd make. “I've enjoyed my life with the Doctor, but I don't think I can do this any more...” River choked back the thought. “If you want to know where to find Melody...I... think maybe its better if I never...” 

Amy immediately spun around towards her. “DON'T!” River was taken aback by her intensity. “Don't you dare! Don't you even think of saying you shouldn't exist.”

River remained still trying to see things from Amy's perspective. She didn't want River as a daughter. River had the ability to change everything with one word and despite her words to the Doctor to never change one line, she was ready to do just that and change everything, but now Amy was fussing at her for considering that. She didn't know what to say so she just stayed quiet and watched Amy's every move, hoping for some bit of understanding. Amy couldn't believe what she'd just heard. For so long she'd heard River telling the Doctor that she couldn't answer this or that because it could change things. She could tell her love for the Doctor was incredibly fierce but her promise to him had always been strong enough that she would endure Stormcage and whatever put her there even though she could change it, just to maintain her life with him. Had her own rejection caused so much doubt to well up in River that she was willing to consider the alternative?

“The Doctor loves you, River, I could never take something that special away from him.” 

“He wouldn't remember,” River lied. She knew full well that the Time Lord would remember every moment of this time stream even if she decided to make it never happen. “None of you would. And you would have your little one back.” River studied her hands that were clasped together in front of her, waiting for the request that would remove the existence of River Song from the universe. The air was thick between them, the silence of the corridor nearly deafening. River could count the beat of her hearts sounding loudly in her ears. She was so lost in the stillness that Amy's sudden advance to the bars nearly startled her. 

“No.” Amy stared at her defiantly. “A universe without River Song is wrong too.”

“But, Amy,” River began only to be cut off.

“I know. I know I can't have it both ways. But I've done a lot of thinking the past few weeks, about the little girl that was taken from us...and about the person you are, the River Song that we've come to know.” River didn't know what to hope. “Rory has been enthralled with you since he first saw you when you pretended to be Cleopatra and he was a Nestene.” River smiled a bit at the thought of her Father. “You've always been this bigger than life entity for me since the moment you literally fell into the TARDIS. And I look at you now, though, and I see so much of Rory in you, the loyalty the strength, the patience, but then there's this fire and adventure. I mean, really, who does that? Who throws themselves out of one ship in deep space hoping that another will catch you?” Amy laughed ruefully. “I guess I was right...Melody Pond really is a super hero!” 

“I'm really not though, more psychopath to be honest.”

“But you _are_!” Amy stressed, before turning and speaking so softly that River nearly missed it. “And who am I to be Mum to a super hero?” 

It was River's turn to jump towards the bars then. “Exactly who you are. Amy, _you_ were what kept me going for so long, the thought that we would be reunited again.”

“You know, I've wondered from time to time about your parents. Were they proud of you?” River looked away at that. “You are so strong, sometimes it seems like you don't even need parents. I wondered if they were half as amazing as you.” 

River covered Amy's hand gripping the bar, “They are _more_ amazing!” She answered with conviction.

Amy regarded her softly for a moment, a small smile beginning to play at her lips. “Rory says you are a lot like me... but I see so very much of him.”

River watched Amy's face as the pieces were fitting themselves together in her head. Melody. River. Daughter. She was scared to hope what that comment might mean. Their eyes caught for only a moment before a bustle was heard from the TARDIS.

 “AMY?! Amy!” the Doctor cried as he stumbled out of the TARDIS. He stopped short when he recognized where they were and saw the two so close. Before he had time to answer, Amy was calling to him. 

“Oi! Sonic boy! Get over here and unlock this door!” The she made sure to hold River's gaze as she continued. “I need to hold my daughter again.” 

Amy's attention was broken though, when in true Doctor fashion, he managed to drop the sonic while trying to add some flair to his routine. River was glad for the momentary distraction, and allowed her eyes to slide shut as emotions again swirled within her at those words “ _my daughter_ ”. She'd given up hope of that ever happening. At the click of the lock though, she was out of the door and found herself immediately wrapped in her mother's arms. Amy held her tight blinking back her own tears at the way this strong woman melted into her arms...a mother's arms. They finally pulled back and Amy caught River's face in her hands. “I _am_ proud of you, I _do_ love you now as I did when I held you for the first time,” a small smile curved at the corners of her River's lips. “But most of all, _do not_ for another second or ever again, think that I don't want you. River Song, I am honored to be your Mum.” River had waited her whole life to hear those sweet words, she clung to Amy, unable to speak for the emotions clogging her throat.

 Amy met the Doctor's eyes over River's shoulder. The Doctor gave her his goofy thumbs up, but his smile was serious, genuine, thankful. 

He heard a commotion at the end of the corridor. “Uh...I'm sorry, Ponds, but we might want to dash out of here before the guards get here.” 

Amy and River made their way quickly to the TARDIS doors. River had to stop a second to share a sweet kiss with the Doctor, before he shut the door soundly behind him and ran off to the console. She made her way gingerly up to the landing. Rory stepped from behind the console and opened his arms to her with a huge grin. She wasted no time running into his waiting welcome arms. “Welcome home, baby girl,” he greeted kissing her cheek as he held her tightly.

 

****

Several weeks later, River lay on her cot listening to the thunder and watching the flashes of lightening that seemed to be a constant at Stormcage. She usually paid it no mind, but she'd only recently returned from one of her escapes that had turned into more of an adventure than she had anticipated and the rumble of the ceaseless storm soothed her. 

Her favorite sound came to her ears, but she didn't move; he'd better have something relaxing in mind or she might just stay there this time. Once again, however, it was Amy that appeared from the TARDIS door instead of the Doctor; this time Sonic in hand. River still didn't move when she heard the lock disengage, nor at the sound of the door opening. The thing that finally got her attention was Amy's call, “MEEELLLLLS!” 

A huge smile broke out across River's face at the memory of the way Amy used to yell her name just like that when she'd gotten into trouble. This means they'd done Berlin! They knew who she was, who she fully was! 

Amy sat down on the cot beside River, nudging her over with her hip just as she'd done many times as kids.

“You know, you could have just told us!”

“Where's the fun in that?” River laughed, though they both knew it was deeper than that; she couldn't have just told them. 

Amy grabbed her hand, pulling her to her feet as she stood. “And here I thought I was done getting you out of jail.” They laughed together as they made their way to the TARDIS.

 

A few nights later, River settled herself into the end of her favorite couch in the TARDIS library. This was always one of the highlights for her whenever she was on the TARDIS at the same time as her parents, well, especially now anyway. Now that her mother supported their father/daughter bonding time, and would even join them time to time for Pond Family Bonding, she called it.

Before long, Rory was pulling River into a big bear hug, their other tradition of sorts. The undignified, un-Riverlike bear hugs were one of their unspoken favorites. She loved it and laughed quietly as he squeezed her tight. Once released, she handed him his cup of tea and settled back down in the cushions.

They talked for a bit, the newest revelation shining new light on their relationship.

“See, Dad, you did get to raise me after all.”

“I wish I'd known! Then I really could have grounded you for stealing that bus!” They both laughed at the memory. “Wish I'd had my sword back then. There's quite a few blokes I would've liked to have had a talk with for the way they treated you!” River laid her head on his shoulder, touched that he would remember those things and that the way she'd been treated mattered so much to him even then. “You should be treated with respect, I don't care who they are.” River laughed at his intensity, but was surprised when he shot up off the couch. “In fact, I need my sword...there's a certain young man around here I need to have words with. 

River watched him leave, still chuckling at him, even more so at his referring to the Doctor as a “young man”. That's certainly not something she's heard often, but thinking about it, he did guard Amy for 2000 years so it would make him older than the Doctor. She sipped her tea with a contented sigh. This was one crazy family she found herself in, but she wouldn't have it any other way. 

“Doctor!” She heard Rory's voice ring out. “Doctor, we need to have a talk about my daughter.” 

She couldn't wipe the smile away. She had the two...now three...best mates anyone could ask for. She had her Mum who proved the evil woman wrong, a Mum who loved her for who she was.  Though, if she were really honest, she would have to admit that she would always be Daddy's little girl.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've come to the end of our tale. Thank you for reading. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Kudos and comments make happy writers!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope this isn’t too OOC for River’s character. I don’t see her as a weepy person but at the same time I do think that there would be enough pain in her past that it would have to come out once in a while anyway. Also, I know we are shown that she regenerated once before the Mels/River regen but I felt like she had to have gone through regeneration before because of the way she seemed familiar with it in that alley.


End file.
